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The City Of Plano Is Now 149 Years Old

Plano was incorporated on June 2, 1873
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Image: Amon Carter Museum, City of Plano | Twitter

Happy birthday to the City of Excellence! Today, Plano celebrates its 149th year.

Settlers first arrived in Plano in the 1840s. Several names were floated for the town at that time, but "Plano," a Spanish word meaning "flat," eventually won out.

Plano became a local farming community trading post after the Houston and Central Railroad opened. Six months later, on June 2, 1873, Plano was incorporated. The following year, the population increased to 500. Since then, the city has grown to around 72-square-miles and has a population of 286,980 (as of January 1, 2021), making Plano the ninth most populated city in Texas.

Today, Plano is home to some of the biggest companies in the US – and the world. JPMorgan Chase, Capital One Finance, Toyota Motor North America, Ericsson, Samsung Electronics America, PepsiCo and Frito-Lay are some companies that call Plano home.

The city boasts an impressive quality of life. Plano is the third safest city in the US, the fifth most affordable city in the US for early retirees and a top 50 healthiest U.S. city (and the healthiest city in North Texas). It also has the best parks in Texas. “We’ve been doing ParkScore for over ten years now, and Plano consistently ranks in the top 20 of cities that we looked at,” Robert Kent of the Trust for Public Land is quoted as saying (via KRLD). “A full 77% of the city of Plano has a park within a ten-minute walk from home.” 

According to Visit Plano, "This vibrant city is truly a land of plenty; blending historic charm with modern luxury, and brimming with amenities and attractions."

So, congrats to the city of Plano! Here's to the next 149 years.

In case you missed it, here are Plano's best playgrounds, best patios and best coffee shops.